I am a believer in God, the Creator of heaven and earth, and in His son, Jesus Christ. This is the fifth of a six part series about Why I Believe.
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Forty-five years ago some people told me that I could have a relationship with Jesus Christ. I thought that was a weird idea, but deep down my soul hungered for it. They also shared with me a Bible verse, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) In other words, if I would put God’s interests and goals first in my life, he would take care of my physical needs. So I decided to test this promise and made getting to know God and following His promptings the focus of my life. Since then my family and I have always had everything we needed, and at the same time, I have developed a close relationship with God and His son Jesus Christ.
For years God’s communication to me was through the words in the Bible, words of other followers of Christ, and gut feelings where I would have a vague, but strong sense of what God wanted me to do. Gradually I have learned to listen for and recognize direct communication from Him.
When He talks to me, His utterances typically consist of very few non-audible words in my mind, but they are accompanied by very clear ideas that parallel and elaborate on the words. Sometimes these ideas are very complex. In His communication, His attitude and demeanor are very much like those of Jesus as revealed in the Bible.
I have learned that there are some topics that He is eager to talk about, which are very similar to what at Jesus tended to talk about in the Bible:
- God’s character
- My character
- What He is doing, and my part in it
- What the Bible says
- How I should treat others
- What or whom He wants me to pray for
Sometimes I wonder if God is really talking to me or whether I am just imagining it all. Then I think back and remember our many conversations, and the only way to explain them is that God has really been talking to me. Communications from God have a consistent high quality; they have a higher quality and a richer content than my own thoughts:
He knows me better than I know myself and loves me more than I love myself. When He confronts me about some of my poor choices, He does it in a way that I instantly know He is absolutely right. I know I was wrong, but I don't feel condemned.
He is smarter and wiser than I am, sometimes giving me complex plans or designs.
He cares about other people more than I do, showing me how He wants me to treat others. I was created in His image, and He expects me to live up to that high standard.
He frequently pushes me outside of my comfort zone to do things that either I don't want to do or I doubt are possible to do. When I do what He tells me to do, the outcomes are consistently good. There may be some discomfort and confusion in the short run, but the long term outcomes are good and sometimes amazing.
Of all the reasons I have for believing in God, my relationship with Him is the most important. He is my best friend. The reasons I related in previous posts got me started believing, but this ongoing relationship is the anchor of my faith.
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